


Only a Kiss

by Nigellica



Series: Marvel Soulmates [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Another!, Awesome Phil Coulson, Background Relationships, F/M, First Meetings, Getting Together, I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm Bad At Tagging, M/M, Missed Connections, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Phil and Clint being adorable, Sam Wilson Is a Good Bro, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, Stucky - Freeform, Thor has a coffee shop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-05
Updated: 2018-03-05
Packaged: 2019-03-27 10:20:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13878840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nigellica/pseuds/Nigellica
Summary: Steve stared in horror as the perfectly pink lips of the man he’d just kissed, in the middle of the fucking dance floor, turned the deep dark red of a soulmate’s first contact.Steve did the only logical thing; he bolted.When Steve accidentally runs from his soulmate they both set out to find each other again, the universe isn't helping.





	Only a Kiss

**Author's Note:**

> So as always, I apologise in advance for any accidental Aussieisms, there's always a few that slip through (and I refuse to write ass, deal with it). This is my version of a soulmate AU, probably not the first to write one like this but it was inspired by the handprint Castiel left on Dean. Also, this was mostly written before I saw Black Panther so please excuse my T'Challa and Okoye.
> 
> Thank you to the lovely Cindy who fixed my mistakes (even if I refused to change arse).
> 
> Please enjoy!
> 
> I own none of the characters, just the situation.

The world was a weird place. That wasn’t up for debate; it was a simple fact. Okay, the whole having soulmates thing kinda made sense, a perfect match out there for everyone, more than one for some, made sense. Sort of. It also made sense that there had to be a way to know, a way to be sure, something clear and undeniable. But this? This made no fucking sense at all.

 

Steve stared in horror as the perfectly pink lips of the man he’d just kissed, in the middle of the fucking dance floor, turned the deep dark red of a soulmate’s first contact.

 

“Oh shit…” Steve did the only logical thing; he bolted.

 

“Hey wait!” a voice called out but the blonde didn’t stop until he couldn’t run anymore.

 

He’d only just met the guy and he’d disfigured him for life. Sure, there was any number of weird marks out there; Tony swore Loki had a deep red stripe along his cock to match the red of Stark’s tongue and mouth. How the hell they’d managed THAT as their first skin to skin contact was a question he’d often wondered. And then he’d done a Tony. Skipped nice, appropriate contact and gone straight for a kiss; why couldn’t he have run his hands up under the guy’s shirt? Slid a finger under the waistband of his wonderfully tight jeans or, hell, shaken his goddamn hand? But no, he was feeling drunk and restless and stained his soulmate’s lips red for life, and ran away from him.

 

Man, if they ever managed to find each other again, the guy was going to hate him.

 

Steve considered going back to the club to try and find him but… well, he couldn’t bring himself to do it, not yet. He needed time to process. He strode into the apartment he shared with Natasha and walked straight into the bathroom to survey the damage.

 

“Oh god,” Steve moaned. The entirety of his lips and small patch on the left side of his nose were the deep blood red colour all soulmate marks started out.

 

In a daze he wandered out to collapse on the couch, Natasha looked up from where she was curled up around a depressing looking Russian novel.

 

“You didn’t!” She grinned, “Oh my god you did a Tony!”

 

Steve dropped his head into his heads, “I diiiid,” he whined.

 

“So where is he? Does he look like he kissed a vacuum cleaner too or did you kiss somewhere else?” Nat wiggled her eyebrows at him with a smirk.

 

“He’s… I don’t know, I ran away,” Steve admitted, trying to ignore the redhead’s sharp intake of breath, “I know, I’m a terrible person. I just… I ruined his perfect lips! I couldn’t keep my lips to myself and now he’s stuck like that. He’s gonna hate me.”

 

The couch sank down beside him, “First of all, no one hates you. Even Fury doesn’t hate you and he hates everyone. And secondly,” Steve winced at the hand that smacked him across the back of the head, “He’s your fucking soulmate, Rogers, you really think he’s going to give a shit you have matching lips now? Of course he might be a bit angry that you DITCHED him.”

 

“Yeah, not my best moment,” he sighed and rubbed his forehead, “You should have seen him, Nat, he’s so goddamned perfect, his eyes, his hair, his arse, his lips, and then he SMILED. God, I’ve never wanted someone so badly in my life.”

 

Natasha pulled him in for a hug, then sat back to punch him in the arm, “We’ll find him Steve, I mean you’ve left him with one hell of an identification mark,” Steve groaned, “Jesus Rogers, go get some sleep, we’ll find him.”

 

He gave her a soft smile and stood, “Thanks Nat, get back to your fucking depressing book.”

 

“It’s called literature arsehole, go to bed,” the redhead rolled her eyes with a smile and opened her book once again.

 

OOOOO

 

“Sooo, good news, I found my soulmate, bad news, I did a Clint,” Bucky called out, slamming the apartment door behind him.

 

Phil glanced at him over the top of the couch and casually shoved his sleeping boyfriend onto the floor.

 

“Guh?!” Clint said, shooting to his feet and looking around wildly. He grinned when he caught sight of Bucky, “Hah! I’m not the only idiot!”

 

Phil rolled his eyes and when Clint sat down, he ran his hand over the semi-circlish red mark on the side of his boyfriend’s forehead which corresponded exactly with the mark on his own neck from where his adorable soulmate had fallen asleep on him on the subway. Ever the gentleman, Phil had simply left his business card in Clint’s jeans pocket to call him when he woke up.

 

“Did you want to talk about it?” Phil offered.

 

Bucky sighed loudly and starting making coffee, “He’s fucking perfect and I have no idea what his name is, where he lives or anything about him, except that you could drown in his fucking big blue eyes and now he looks like he’s been making out with a clown.”

 

“He ha-oof,” Clint cut off thanks to a well placed elbow, “I mean that totally sucks man, don’t worry we’ll find him.”

 

Bucky rested his chin atop his folded arms on the kitchen bench, “If he even wants to see me now. I mean, we kissed and he ran away, god why didn’t I just take his hand or something?”

 

Phil shrugged, “It could always be worse, he could have pushed you away and put a hand print across your face.”

 

The brunette perked up a bit, “True.”

 

“Yeah man, he may have run away but at least he kissed you,” Clint cheered, then yelped when his boyfriend shoved him off the couch again, “If my butt is bruised, you’re gonna be sorry.”

 

“I’ll kiss it better later,” Phil murmured in a tone so low Bucky was sure he wasn’t meant to hear it.

 

He watched silently as the two flirted and teased back and forth and he ached. God he WANTED that so badly, that ease and happiness. Hopefully he and his mystery blonde soulmate wanted similar things.

 

OOOOO

 

“Alright,” Natasha smirked as Steve stumbled sleepily into the kitchen, “I already called Sam and told him everything, you’re going to do a sketch of our mystery man and we’ll ask around the neighbourhood of the club you went to.”

 

The blonde stared as she dished up two plates of scrambled eggs, “What? Is that even legal?”

 

His housemate rolled her eyes, “Oh course dummy, we’ll just ask around, see if anyone knows him.”

 

Steve stared at her blankly, “Don’t you have work?”

 

“Not all day,” she explained impatiently, “Which is why when you have a sketch, you are going to call Sam. He’s going to come over and help you search, and when I finish work, I’ll come home and grab the copy of the sketch  _ which you will leave for me _ and go hit up the bars which should be open by then.”

 

“Wow, you’ve really thought this all through,” the blonde said, running fingers through his hair, “I can’t tell if you’re trying to be nice or just weirdly invested.”

 

Natasha finished her last mouthful of eggs and ruffled his hair on the way to the sink, “Maybe I just know how absolutely useless you are and that if I leave it to you, you’ll still be pining and moping when I get home from work.”

 

“I’m not useless,” he argued, knowing he couldn’t really argue the rest of it; pining and moping over the gorgeous brunette had basically been his plan for the day.

 

“Get sketching, Steve. I’ll see you tonight and I expect a sketch of Mr Perfect for me to show around,” Natasha called out as she grabbed her handbag and headed for the door, “Oh and I left some makeup on the counter for you, use it or you’ll be explaining all day.”

 

Steve groaned and let his forehead drop against the benchtop. This was going to be a long fucking day.

 

OOOOO

 

“Alright so, plan of attack.” 

 

God, why was Phil such a morning person? Bucky and Clint stared vacantly at each other over the tops of their morning coffees while Phil talked.

 

Bucky held up a finger and sculled his unfortunately hot coffee, swallowing with a wince, “Phil, I love you but I’m going to need at least another coffee before I can listen to anything complicated.”

 

Clint rested his forehead against his boyfriend’s shoulder, groaning, “Seconded, get me one too.”

 

Phil just rolled his eyes good naturedly, “It’s not that complicated, if he lives around here, he probably frequents a coffee shop nearby, so we start with them, ask around, see if anyone knows him, or if they’ve noticed a guy with lips to match yours. Then tonight once the bar opens, we can go back and see if anyone there knows him.”

 

Bucky paused, putting a second mug of coffee down in front of Clint, “Nope, I was right, need another coffee first.”

 

The other man simply snorted and stood, forcing Clint to hold his own head up, “I’ll explain again after my shower, try to be coherent by then.”

 

Clint and Bucky gave mock salutes and focused on their respective coffees.

 

OOOOO

 

Steve’s head shot up when he heard the scratching of a key sliding into the lock as someone let themselves into the apartment. Which was how Sam found him, a deer in the headlights surrounded by scrunched up paper.

 

“I’m guessing it’s not going well,” his friend drawled as he sat on the other couch, “Here I thought you'd fallen asleep or something.”

 

The blonde groaned and let his head flop back against the couch, “I’m trying just… I can’t do him justice, it needs to be perfect, it needs-”

 

“Steve,” Sam interrupted, “It just needs to be recognisable, like a police sketch. We don’t need no twinkling eyes or cute butt or whatever else you’re trying to add in. Just simple.”

 

Steve’s cheeks tinted pink, “I wasn’t going to put his butt in.”

 

The other man snorted, “Just trying to get the right amount of twinkle?”

 

He tore off another page, balled it up and threw it at Sam, “Maybe. Give me a few minutes and we can go.”

 

“You might wanna,” he gestured at his mouth and grinned, “Do something with all of that first.”

 

OOOOO

 

“Why didn’t you say we were getting coffee?” Clint whined, “I wouldn’t have drunk Bucky’s shitty coffee if I knew.”

 

The brunette raised a middle finger in his direction while Phil just rolled his eyes, “I did tell you, twice.”

 

“You know I’m useless without my morning coffee,” the blonde pouted.

 

Phil huffed and tapped him on the nose with a smile, “I wouldn’t say useless.”

 

“Ookay, sex talk later, this is all about me remember?” Bucky interrupted, “Otherwise we’re splitting up.”

 

Clint rolled his eyes, “Oh please, like you aren’t gonna be fifty times worse when you find your blonde adonis.”

 

“I’m not even sure that’s possible,” Bucky drawled, “You two are sickeningly adorable.”

 

Phil simply smiled and placed a kiss against Clint’s temple, “It’ll be faster if we split up, you two take the left side, I’ll take the right.”

 

The brunette grinned and pumped a fist in the air, “Alright! We’ve got Thor’s. Let’s go, before you get all distracted again.”

 

“Distracted my arse,” Clint huffed.

 

“Yeah that's what I'm worried about,” Bucky replied dryly, dragging him towards the first coffee shop.

 

OOOOO

 

Steve never realised just how many cafes, coffee shops and coffee stands there were in his area until he tried to visit them all.

 

“-when I find my soulmate, you're cooking for us for a week, that's all I'm saying,” Sam informed him as they entered the millionth coffee shop of the afternoon.

 

“I get it, I get it, I owe you big time,” the blonde replied, stepping up to the counter, “Hi, I was just wondering if you've ever seen this guy around?” Steve asked politely, holding up his drawing.

 

“Yeah, guy came in this morning asking about a blonde guy with a new soulmark on his lips, I think his name was… hey Barry, what was that guy's name?” The barista called out to a side room.

 

Another head poked out, “Something odd, was it… Chucky? Rusty?”

 

“Mickey?” The barista offered.

 

“Nah pretty sure it had an ‘r' in it, Ricky maybe? He left with another blonde, looked like they were heading up the road,” the other guy told them with a shrug, “Maybe someone else remembers his name.”

 

“Thanks man, appreciate the help. You remember which way he went?” Sam asked eagerly.

 

The barista interjected, “Yeah, pretty sure they went left, heading for Another!, sounded pretty keen to go see Thor.”

 

Steve grinned and pulled a note out of his pocket and shoved it in the tip jar, “Thank you guys, thank you so much!”

 

The pair rushed out of the shop before a voice could call after, “Hey but that was hours ago, they’re probably long gone by now!”

 

OOOOO

 

“So, Loki, seen any hot blondes with a soulmark on their face?” Clint asked with a smirk, leaning against the cafe counter.

 

The dark haired man raised one very unimpressed eyebrow and ran his eyes down the blonde and back up again, “No. What do you want Barton? Order or get out.”

 

“Aw come on, don’t be like that,” Clint pouted in response.

 

Bucky huffed and pushed him aside with a roll of his eyes, “Hey man, we’ll get the usual but you haven’t seen a tall, buff guy with short blonde hair and blue eyes in here?”

 

Loki stared, unimpressed, “Thor!” he yelled out, storming away from the counter, “Come deal with your friends!”

 

The tall blonde man strode out of the back room with a massive grin, “Bucky! Clint! Welcome, this is a new look for you.”

 

Bucky burst out laughing, no wonder Loki had been so mad, “And that’s a new look for you,” he replied, gesturing at the man’s newly shortened hair.

 

Thor gave them a sheepish look, “Ah, yes, the woman I was seeing, she cut it off through the night. We’re no longer together,” he ran a hand through his short hair, “I’m still adjusting.”

 

“Looks good,” Clint grinned, “I think we pissed your brother off.”

 

The bigger man let out a loud bark of laughter, “That is not hard, my friends, Stark is away for the week; Loki is not overly happy to start with.”

 

Bucky chuckled lightly, “That explains it. But hey, we wanted to ask, have you seen an incredibly attractive blonde guy, short hair, blue eyes with lips to match mine?”

 

The blonde man’s eyebrows shot up, “Your soulmate? You don’t know who he is?”

 

“We were really drunk,” the brunette hedged awkwardly, “Kind of a missed connection. Any idea who he might be? Tall? Nicely built shoulders and small hips?”

 

Thor’s face scrunched in thought, “It sounds a bit like Steve, he’s a friend of Tony’s, he doesn’t live far from here.”

 

Both Bucky and Clint’s eyes lit up, “Do you have an address?” the blonde asked hurriedly, already texting Phil.

 

The bigger blonde chuckled, “Loki should have it, Loki!” he called out, “So two coffees to go then?”

 

OOOOO

 

“Loki!” Steve greeted the surly looking man as they entered the coffee shop, “How long til Tony gets back?”

 

The brunette huffed in response, “Supposed to be another week, I give it two days at most til he breaks down and does something ridiculous.”

 

“Let me guess, you’re making sure of it?” Sam snorted, raising an eyebrow in amusement.

 

Loki slowly straightened from his position slumped over the counter and smirked, “My favourite thing about snapchat is how little time I can give him to see what I want.”

 

The barista’s eyes shot to Steve’s lips and his expression dropped immediately, “Shit, I apologise Steve, Thor was so certain he was talking about you. I would never just give out your address like that, I was trying to help.”

 

Steve’s brows furrowed, “My address? Who did you give my address to?”

 

Loki hesitated, “Is that… that’s not why you’re here?”

 

“Nah man, Steve’s an idiot, he misplaced his soulmate, we’re trying to find him,” Sam explained, holding out the picture, “Seen this guy? Brown hair? Cute butt? Twinkly eyes?”

 

The blonde elbowed him, “The guys down the road thought he might be heading here, have you seen him?”

 

Loki’s eyes widened and shot to his lips again, “That’s Bucky, but I thought he said…”

 

Steve gave him a rueful smile, “Makeup, courtesy of Nat, she thought it might save on explanations. His name is Bucky? You’re sure?”

 

“Well you did leave him one hell of a mark,” the brunette drawled, “He’s a friend of Thor’s, I gave him your address, they were heading over there to find you.”

 

The blonde’s grin widened goofily and Sam rolled his eyes with a smile, “Guess we better head over there, thanks man.”

 

They were almost out the door before Loki called out, “Steve, that was a couple of hours ago, he might not still be there. Call if you need me.”

 

OOOOO

 

Bucky slid to the floor outside the door with a groan, scrubbing both hands through his hair in frustration, “God fucking dammit, we’re so close!”

 

“Bucky, man, we can’t keep waiting out here,” Clint told him, taking a seat beside him and wrapping an arm around his shoulders, “It’s been two and a half hours man.”

 

Phil knelt in front of him, “I think the neighbour is considering calling the police if we hang around much longer.”

 

The brunette’s head fell back against the door with a solid thunk, “I’m sure this is right though.”

 

“This isn’t giving up; we can come back later, try again,” Clint cajoled.

 

“We can carry on as planned, go to the club, see if he goes back. This is a good thing Bucky,” Phil comforted, squeezing his knee gently, “It means he’s probably out looking just as desperately as we are.”

 

The brunette perked up a little with a small smile, “You think so?”

 

The older man stood and held out a hand, “Of course, who wouldn’t search for you,” Phil smiled, pulling him to his feet while Clint scrambled to his feet as well.

 

“Yeah, that glorious hair, tight little arse, how could he not be?” the blonde grinned, wrapping an arm around his shoulder as they headed down the hallway.

 

Bucky snorted and wrapped his arms around both men as they stumbled past a redheaded woman and out into the streets, “I can’t believe neither of you had a pen or paper.”

 

Clint rolled his eyes and flagged down a taxi, “Neither did you dickhead, and I need to sit down for a while, let’s head home and regroup, sit down for a while then we can head out again,” he said, sliding into the car.

 

Phil rolled his eyes fondly and slid in as well, “Lazy arse.”

 

The blonde grinned and winked, “Yeah but I’m your lazy arse.”

 

None of them saw the redhead in the rearview mirror, running out of the building clutching a piece of paper and looking around frantically as they drove off.

 

OOOOO

 

They could hear the swearing and banging before they even reached the door, the pair exchanged  glances before Steve let them in to find Nat swearing in multiple languages and stomping around the apartment.

 

“Woah, woah, Nat, calm down, what happened?” Steve said, trying to calm the furious redhead, approaching with caution.

 

“He. Was. Here.” Nat gritted out, slamming a glass down on the counter and wrenching the fridge open.

 

“You met him?” Sam asked incredulously, “What’s wrong? Is he a dick?”

 

“No,” she slammed a carton of juice onto the counter, ignoring the juice that splattered everywhere, “I didn’t realise it was him. I passed him on the way in, I just didn’t know until I saw the picture. He was gone by the time I got outside.”

 

Steve’s shoulders sank with a groan, “Why does the universe hate me? He was at Thor’s, Loki knows him. He said his name is Bucky.”

 

Nat snorted and wiped up the spill, “Who the hell is Bucky? What kind of name is that?”

 

The blonde sank onto a stool with a sigh, “I wish I knew.”

 

Sam rubbed a hand over his shoulders and massaged them lightly, “Come on man, we’re so close, let’s just have something to eat and head back to the club. If we can’t find him, we get wasted and head back to Thor’s in the morning to track the fucker down.”

 

“Sam’s right,” Nat told him, sipping her juice, rage calmed for the moment, “I doubt he’ll come back here tonight, the club is our best bet. If we can’t find him we can at least get so drunk we don’t remember.”

 

“Amen to that.”

 

OOOOO

 

“You can’t keep watching the door like a creeper,” Clint informed him, slumping onto the stool next to him, “Come on, Phil’s got the barpeople keeping an eye out; why don’t you come dance? Or at least have a drink.”

 

Bucky shook his head immediately, “I want to be clear headed if I get to see him again. Just in case I need to give chase,” he added dryly.

 

The blonde laughed and shook his head, “Trust me, it’ll be fine, but if you need a little liquid courage, go for it. Just not so much you can’t run.”

 

“Bucky?” an accented voice inquired, he whirled around instantly, disappointed to find a young brunette woman, “Your friend told us your story, why don’t you come wait in our VIP section? The moment any of our staff find your blonde we can bring him to you.”

 

He blinked in confusion at the woman, “What, why?”

 

Her lips tilted in a smile, “My brother is a sucker for romantic stories, we thought a bit of quiet and privacy might be nice for your reunion.”

 

Bucky’s heart sped hopefully in his chest, “That… actually sounds amazing, thank you,” he slid to his feet, “Clint-”

 

“I’ll stay down here, an extra set of eyes can’t hurt, besides, they’re playing our song,” he smirked, gaze settling on Phil.

 

Bucky rolled his eyes and followed the young woman, “Everytime you say that it’s a different song!” he called back.

 

Clint smirked and gave him a mock salute, heading for his lover.

 

OOOOO

 

The bouncer barely even glanced at them as he waved them in as part of a larger group, much to Nat’s disgust (“I’d fire his arse if he worked for me, just plain lazy.”), and the three friends moved to the side to talk, or yell really.

 

“Okay, how we gonna do this?” Sam asked.

 

The pair both looked to Steve and he gave a quick sweep before looking back at his friends, “We met on the dancefloor, so I’ll take that, Sam, check out the bar, Nat, see if you can talk your way into the VIP area, just in case. Meet back here in fifteen?”

 

They both nodded and Nat pulled out her phone, “All phones on vibrate just in case?” she asked, fiddling with her own.

 

The two men pulled their own phones out and did the same before shoving them back in pockets.

 

The redheaded woman grabbed Steve’s neck so she could pull him down and kiss his cheek, “Good luck Romeo,” she said, heading for the stairs in her little black dress.

 

If anyone could talk their way in, it was Nat.

 

Sam held his hand out for a fist bump which Steve returned, “Good luck man.”

 

“Thanks, you too,” the blonde squared his shoulders and headed for the dance floor, eyes everywhere.

 

Come on Bucky.

 

OOOOO

 

Clint pulled back from his soulmate slightly so he could use his hands to sign, pointing excitedly in the direction of a hot blonde guy,  _ “Could that be him?” _

 

Phil shook his head and signed back,  _ “Couldn’t be, his lips look normal.’” _

 

The blonde pouted,  _ “That sucks, he’s fucking hot.” _

 

The older man rolled his eyes,  _ “Just lucky I’m not the jealous type.” _

 

_ “Aw Phil, why would I want some blonde adonis when I have you?” _ Clint signed with a grin.

 

Phil raised an eyebrow in response,  _ “You sure I shouldn’t give you some time alone?” _

 

_ “Not even a second,” _ the blonde replied, effectively ending their signed conversation by trailing his arms up to wrap around his lover’s neck.

 

“I love you,” Phil said against his ear, feeling the other man relax against him with a smile.

 

It didn’t matter how long it had been, Clint always loved being reminded.

 

“I love you too, so much,” the blonde replied before pulling him into a kiss.

 

OOOOO

 

Nat let out a small sigh of relief as the pounding music dulled when she climbed the stairs, thank fuck for that.

 

She emerged into the dimly lit room, glancing around at the half walls that sectioned the room off for at least the semblance of privacy. She’d have to make her way around, search all the separate areas, what a pain.

 

She started anti-clockwise, or tried to anyway until she was stopped by an imposing, dark-skinned woman, “Who are you?”

 

Nat fixed the woman with an unimpressed stare; normally she wouldn’t be quite so (close but not quite) disagreeable, but it had been a fucking long day.

 

“Who are you?” she replied belligerently.

 

The woman gave her a once over that looked (begrudgingly) impressed before it was covered in dismissal, “Move, or you will be moved.”

 

Nat stared for a moment, then smiled, before throwing a punch, not really expecting it to hit. She was surprised when it was caught with a ringing smack, the impact sending tingles across her knuckles.

 

“Fun as this would be to watch, I doubt my father would be impressed if we started any fights Okoye,” said the man whose hand was still wrapped around her fist, “My apologies miss, I am T’Challa and this is Okoye, she can be… overprotective,” the tall, dark-skinned man explained as Okoye stepped back with a look of disapproval.

 

“My apologies as well, it’s been a long day,” she replied, eyes flicking between the pair as she shook her hand to try to relieve the tingling, “My name is Nat.”

 

“No harm done, it is a pleasure to meet you Nat,” T’Challa smiled, bowing his head slightly.

 

The other woman’s eyes widened and she let out a sound of alarm, “Your highness, your hands.”

 

They both looked down, eyes widening as they noticed the new matching red marks that covered their hands.

 

“Oh fuck,” Nat examined her hand and looked up at the man, “Your HIGHNESS?!”

 

T’Challa examined his hand before running his other hand through his dark curls, “We should talk.”

 

OOOOO

 

Steve glanced at his watch again, “Should we go look for her?” he asked Sam.

 

The other man looked at his own watch and nodded, “It’s Nat, she’s never late. C’mon.”

 

They shoved through the crowd to the base of the stairs where a tall blonde man stood, “Can I help you?”

 

“Hey man, we’re looking for someone, think he might be upstairs? A friend of us went up but she’s not back,” Sam explained.

 

He raised an eyebrow, “I’m sorry gentlemen, I can’t just let anybody in. VIPs only I’m afraid.”

 

Steve groaned and rubbed his hands over his face, fuck, why was this so difficult.

 

Sam’s eyes shot to fingerprint-like soulmark high on the man’s forehead, “Please man, come on, just let Steve in, he’s looking for his soulmate. Blue eyed brunette? It’s the only place we haven’t checked.”

 

The man glanced over at Steve, eyes widening when he noticed the patch of red where the blonde had wiped away some of the makeup.

 

“Wait, your lips…” the man retrieved a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it over, “Show me your lips.”

 

Steve took the cloth and wiped it firmly over his mouth and nose, uncovering the soulmark in all of its glory.

 

The other blonde grinned and stood aside, “He’s upstairs waiting.”

 

Steve stared blankly for a second, his heart pounding in his chest.

 

“The hell you waiting for man? Go!” Sam grinned, thumping him on the back to get him moving.

 

He finally spurred into action and pressed the handkerchief to the other blonde’s chest as he ran past, sprinting up the stairs to find his soulmate.

 

OOOOO

 

Bucky sighed and sat forward on the couch to slide his glass of coke from hand to hand along the coffee table, man waiting was horrible. It was like waiting in the hallway all over again. At least when he’d been running around town he’d felt like he was DOING something. This was just painful. And he had the horrible feeling it was going to end just like the hallway.

 

He heard panting and looked up to see, “Steve?” Bucky shot to his feet, barely even noticing the half full glass he sent flying.

 

“Bucky,” the blonde breathed, stepping hesitantly closer, “I’m so sorry, I- can you ever forgive me?”

 

The brunette moved slowly around the table, eyes roving all over Steve, taking in every inch of him.

 

“Please Buck, I’ll make it up to you, I swear,” he pleaded, blue eyes apologetic.

 

Bucky cupped Steve’s face in one hand, brushing his thumb over dark red lips and feeling the blonde shudder under his touch. He trailed his hand down the man’s neck and shoulder, down his arm, squeezing his hand before it dropped to his side.

 

The brunette bit his lip for a moment then held out his hand, “James Buchanan Barnes.”

 

A huge grin burst over the blonde’s face and he took the hand in his own for a firm shake that neither man could seem to let go of, “Steven Grant Rogers. If only we’d done this right the first time.”

 

An answering grin covered Bucky’s face, “Nah I kinda like it, shows everyone exactly who you belong to,” he smirked and licked his own lips, enjoying the sudden heat in Steve’s eyes.

 

“First you might have to show me,” the blonde challenged, tongue wetting his dark lips.

 

“Don’t worry, I intend to,” Bucky purred, leaning in to finally kiss his soulmate.

 

“Steve!” a voice called and Bucky’s face dropped forward with a groan til his forehead was pressed to the blonde’s lips instead.

 

“Nat,” Steve greeted with a chuckle as his friend approached with a dark skinned man behind her left shoulder and a seriously intimidating looking woman behind her right.

 

Her face lit up, “You found him! Thank fuck, I’m so sorry Steve, I got distracted,” she explained guiltily, holding up her fist so he could see the dark red hand print wrapped around it.

 

The blonde’s eyebrow shot up and he glanced between the man and woman until the man lifted an arm to be literally caught red-handed. 

 

Steve grinned and stepped away from Bucky to pull his friend into a tight hug, “Congratulations Nat, I’m so happy for you.”

 

“You too Steve; I hope he’s perfect,” she replied, hugging back just as tightly.

 

They pulled apart and Steve held out a hand, “Steve Rogers, and this is Bucky, nice to meet you.”

 

“T’Challa,” the man introduced, “And this is Okoye, nice to meet you as well.”

 

“Prince T’Challa,” the woman corrected, a slight smirk playing around her lips as the two men’s eyes widened.

 

“Yeah, we might actually have a bit to talk about,” Nat told her friend somewhat sheepishly.

 

“Tomorrow,” Steve replied firmly, glancing behind him and reaching out to take Bucky’s hand.

 

“Tomorrow,” T’Challa replied with a smile, squeezing Nat’s shoulder, “If you’ll excuse us, I think we need more time to talk.”

 

The blonde nodded, watching them leave.

 

“Oh and you guys can have the apartment to yourselves tonight, don’t break anything,” Nat drawled as they left.

 

Steve’s cheeks flamed and Bucky laughed loudly, tugging his hand to pull him close once again.

 

“I- we don’t have to- we can just talk tonight if you want,” the blonde told him earnestly, his eyes still drinking in every last detail.

 

Bucky rolled his eyes and wrapped his free hand around the back of Steve’s neck to finally pull him in for a kiss. 

 

And this time, the tingling had nothing to do with their soulmarks.

**Author's Note:**

> So in my mind, Thor and Bruce are soulmates, they've known each other for ages thanks to Tony and Loki but have never had skin to skin contact. Sometime after this story I can see Banner getting super drunk and having a Ragnarok moment ("You don't like me, you like the other guy!" "Bruce, it's just us here." "No, no, the other guy, you like him better." "No, I like you better.") and then going to kiss Thor, overbalancing and dragging his fingers down Thor's face, leaving the Ragnarok red marks.
> 
> Just had to share that :)


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